New Archbishop of Hobart says no to women in altar roles

The new Catholic Archbishop of Hobart has revealed he prefers men, not women, to take on the role of altar servers at Mass, reports the ABC.

Archbishop Julian Porteous was installed in a mass at Hobart's St Marys Cathedral on Tuesday night and the highlights of the ceremony were on YouTube several hours later.

Yesterday the new Archbishop declared his passion for social media, but also revealed some traditional views about how services should be run.

St Marys Cathedral has used middle-aged women as altar servers in the past, but The Most Reverend Porteous says he prefers children and men to take on the role, to encourage them into the priesthood. "Altar servers, generally speaking, are primary school age, around that age, and so there's always been a tradition of having altar boys around that age and so girls can also be at that age," he said.

"When you move into high school I think it's more appropriate that we have men, young men who are serving on the altar."